How do you feel about less-than-inflation annual payrises?

I'm in a tough spot, I'm very well paid and my role is highly specialised. My exact role doesn't exist at competing firms, as I head up two distinct areas. A role handling just one of the two would pay around 20% less if I opted to move.

Last year was an inflationary pay rise, this year is looking like an inflationary payrise. Both years I've been given the maximum possible performance rating, I'm just waiting for the guy above me to retire so I can take my next step.

I think I'm going to make some noise this pay review, its risky, but I know they want to keep me and if they can't offer me progression right now then they can give me a 10% bump.
 
1.5%, with above average performance rating. Those who report to me (I also fulfil these duties day to day) got at least 2.5%, with one getting 3.4%. The best part is, I gave him only an average performance rating! Time to moan. Last time I did I got quite a big result.
 
Last edited:
I am only getting 2% but did get 10% last year, which surprised me, I think I am at the top of my band now
 
I'm happy with it in cases when I'm well paid. I've been much happier getting a 1.5% pay rise than getting a a 7% pay rise in the past for example.

For me the percentage payrise is essentially irrelevant, all that matters is, how well am I being paid right now relative to market rates for similar roles and how much value I am adding to the organisation. So sometimes getting a 20%+ pay rise is absolutely mandatory and other times getting no pay rise at all is completely fair.

In some industries bonus swings dwarf pay rises in the medium term anyway. Like one years good bonus can give you more than three years of good pay rises even allowing for the impact on pensions and other benefits. You might be better off getting a £50k bonus and a 1% pay rise compared to a 5% pay rise and no bonus.
 
You need to job hop if you want a good rise. Pay comparisons between people who move every coupe of years compared to those who stick with the same job/employer is huge. There is no reward for loyalty anymore, the opposite in fact.

Ignore things like yearly performance reviews etc, get chatgpt to write that crap, it's all fluff and you'll move on before it matters. Once in a job start working towards progress to a higher paying one.
 
Last edited:
Right now all I hear about is how hard it is to get a job in pretty much any sector, any age. I therefore strongly value keeping my job and will accept a pay rise this year of anything. It's probably going to be around 2%. It is what it is.
 
Nasher said:
You need to job hop if you want a good rise. Pay comparisons between people who move every coupe of years compared to those who stick with the same job/employer is huge. There is no reward for loyalty anymore, the opposite in fact.

Ignore things like yearly performance reviews etc, get chatgpt to write that crap, it's all fluff and you'll move on before it matters. Once in a job start working towards progress to a higher paying one.
Click to expand...


This is not really true anymore. General salaries for IT and software are falling do job hopping can see you earn less.

You also have to value job security. If you have just joined a company 6 months back then you are probably first in mine to be chopped. If you have a proven track record over many years and have deeply integrated expertise then you are in a much more secure position
 
D.P. said:
This is not really true anymore. General salaries for IT and software are falling do job hopping can see you earn less.

You also have to value job security. If you have just joined a company 6 months back then you are probably first in mine to be chopped. If you have a proven track record over many years and have deeply integrated expertise then you are in a much more secure position
Click to expand...

There are companies offering lower wages, but they don't seem to hire anyone as I see the same jobs listed for months. Or they'll get someone who was unemployed and they jump ship as soon as they get a good offer.

If you are already in a job you can be picky.
 
Last edited:
My level of give a **** about doing a good job is directly proportional to the relative value of my salary ;)

Had below inflation pay rises for the last couple of years, to be honest the only reasons I'm still here are the people in my immediate team, and the flexibility/full time WFH.

Nasher said:
There are companies offering lower wages, but they don't seem to hire anyone as I see the same jobs listed for months. Or they'll get someone who was unemployed and they jump ship as soon as they get a good offer.
Click to expand...

Yup - exactly the issue we have at the moment. There's also the other outcome - you get the rubbish candidates who haven't been successful at the higher paid jobs, and don't last past their probation..
 
Last edited:
I'm effectively self employed and have had the same day rate for the past 2.5 years. I am really struggling to decide whether to increase my rate. I likely have to start charging VAT if I do that but thats neither here nor there for the companies I work for as they are VAT registered too. The bigger fear is that they turn around and tell me to **** off. The IT sector in the UK is poorly paid outside of a few sectors and this job is pretty good for my work life balance. Oh and the IT sector is generally taking a beating at the moment. I don't think the people I work for have any money or cashflow issues, its just the risk.

We are also just about to get what is likely our last stonking great mortgage and the increase would help with that and the two black holes we birthed a few years ago. Losing my main source of income would be....challenging. The business has about a years worth of my salary sitting in it so not the end of the world but not great.

I just think that inflation has eaten into my day rate quite a lot and that its not unreasonable to increase it. I was considering 10% ish. What do people think. My partner is public sector so doesn't really have a clue about these things. Not sure I have much more.
 
Our company is giving 2.8%, which I think is below inflation. However, I do have the opportunity to make the case for my team to have higher than average pay rises, which I'm always pleased about. As most of them are in the grad scheme on fixed raises, though, it only really benefits one guy! I always take the opportunity to make the case for myself as well, which has always proved fruitful. I'm glad I'm unlikely to be stuck with the 2.8% though.
 
Arterion said:
As per title, really. CPIH inflation currently at 3.9%; our annual raise was 2.75%. Usually this is a signal to me to start looking around for other employment.

What about y'all?
Click to expand...
When you are at the point all that matters is inflation busting pay rises or you are looking elsewhere, I think your priorities might be worth reviewing..

If you want to maximise your potential, then sure, salary is a factor, no one wants to be undervalued, but I'd be looking at what the company offers in terms of the environment, the work, the level of engagement, progression opportunities before I nitpick on > inflation rises..

That might just be me of course, I don't quibble over a few % here and there, I'm usually more focussed on the long term and being somewhere that isn't a hell hole for what is a massive chunk of my life..
 
Demon said:
When you are at the point all that matters is inflation busting pay rises or you are looking elsewhere, I think your priorities might be worth reviewing.
Click to expand...
Bollards. Companies always play the game of trying to pay as little as they can get away with.

I do agree with your point about the overall picture through and not working somewhere that is a hell hole.
 
Last edited:
Stu999 said:
Bollards. Companies always play the game of trying to pay as little as they can get away with.

I do agree with your point about the overall picture through and not working somewhere that is a hell hole.
Click to expand...
I kind of agree, but on the other hand unless the UK manages to turn things around significantly below inflation payrises will just be a fact of life.
 
Google:
The current UK inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), is 2.6%. This is a decrease from the previous month, which saw a 2.8% inflation rate. The Bank of England's target for inflation is 2%.

The current CPIH (Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs) inflation rate in the UK is 3.4% for the year to March 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is a decrease from the 3.7% rate observed in the year to February 2025. The monthly rate of increase for CPIH in March was 0.3%, compared to 0.6% in March 2024
Click to expand...

Our place are going to get 2.8% I think. Meh.
 
Aside from fixed (union) contracts that guarantee payrises, why do people expect annual inflation payrises? Companies generally only pay you what they think it costs to replace you (excluding recruitment costs, which seem to magically be zero in their salary banding calculations), so if the labor cost rate isn't going up, they realistically don't need to offer you more money to do the same job that you're already doing.

I appreciate that as an employee, you want to get at least inflation-level payrises to keep your spending power, but that by itself is not really the company's problem. If other similar companies do offer annual payrises, the labor rate for your job will go up, which may force your employer's hand to increase their own pay rate, resulting in a small raise to "stay competitive".
 
Stu999 said:
Bollards. Companies always play the game of trying to pay as little as they can get away with.

I do agree with your point about the overall picture through and not working somewhere that is a hell hole.
Click to expand...
My point was that if you entirely bypass the rational thought process of what salary you are on and if that is competitive , on top of the other things mentioned, and just boil it all down to inflation busting pay rise or I walk, your priorities are wrong..

We all exist within the same economy /competitive market so those mechanisms are a given..
 
This entirely depends on your outlook on work, someone just turning the handle, turning up and doing their 8 hours probably would feel miffed at less than inflationary pay rises its essentially a pay cut. My company went through a 5 year period until recently of no pay rises whilst inflation was 10%+, I stayed, I like the work and the company, it wasn't making much money at the time, but I could see where it was heading.
If you don't like the pay you get then vote with your feet, I only ever give my guys the standard pay rise unless they want to leave and I want to keep them, then we negotiate. Anyone who's working for a career not just a job should be moving every ~3 years I think, its the best way to increase pay above the standard inflationary.
 
Last edited:
A payrise would be welcome regardless of it being inflation busting or not. On paper it should mean that I would not be able to maintain my standard of living, but it gives me more of a chance than not receiving a pay rise at all. If the company can't afford it then you either ride the wave or find another job.
 
jon86 said:
Aside from fixed (union) contracts that guarantee payrises, why do people expect annual inflation payrises? Companies generally only pay you what they think it costs to replace you (excluding recruitment costs, which seem to magically be zero in their salary banding calculations), so if the labor cost rate isn't going up, they realistically don't need to offer you more money to do the same job that you're already doing.

I appreciate that as an employee, you want to get at least inflation-level payrises to keep your spending power, but that by itself is not really the company's problem. If other similar companies do offer annual payrises, the labor rate for your job will go up, which may force your employer's hand to increase their own pay rate, resulting in a small raise to "stay competitive".
Click to expand...
Most employees get more effective with experience working at a given organisation. So an employee is often more effective in their second year than their first year for example, because they aren't starting from zero, they have built relationships, developed tacit knowledge etc. You need to spend less on training and KT.

I remember writing something a year or two back where I basically said I think wages should be much more staggered in the first couple of years. Often I think people get overpaid when they first join a company, and are then underpaid after a couple of years.

So e.g instead of someone starting on £100k and getting 5% pay rises they probably ought to be starting on £90k and getting 15% pay rises (or whatever). This also gives some protection in the sense that if you hire someone and they are rubbish you just don't give them a pay rise, but you haven't got them just sticking it out on a big salary.

Of course, the issue here is that it's hard to get people to jump ship in the first place if you aren't offering a competitive salary. So they end up offering the £100k even though they probably aren't worh £100k initially.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom